JUBA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Some 862 people were killed, injured, abducted or subjected to conflict-related sexual violence in the last quarter of 2023 in South Sudan, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said on Monday.
An UNMISS report covering October to December 2023 documented 233 incidents of violence across the country, with 862 victims affected -- 406 killed, 293 injured, 100 abducted and 63 subjected to conflict-related sexual violence.
"Compared to the previous quarter, this represented a 4 percent increase in incidents and a 35 percent increase in victims," UNMISS said in the report released in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
The UN mission said civilians are bearing the brunt of a surge in intercommunal conflict in pockets of South Sudan.
Nicholas Haysom, the special representative of the UN secretary-general and head of UNMISS, said intercommunal conflict continues to cause immense harm to communities across the country.
"UNMISS is doing all it can to prevent violence and build peace in the affected areas, but urgent intervention by authorities at the national, state and local levels is needed to resolve underlying grievances and build peace," Haysom said.
According to the report, intercommunal violence by community-based militias and/or civil defense groups accounted for 86 percent of all civilians affected during the period. The main conflict hotspot, Warrap State, experienced a sharp increase in victims by 87 percent compared to the previous quarter, from 244 to 457.
UNMISS also reported a 54 percent increase in abduction victims, from 65 to 100, compared to the previous quarter. ■
